HAPPIER TIMES: Embattled Rutgers president Robert Barchi (right) and former athletic director Tim Pernetti, who resigned under fire in the wake of the Mike Rice scandal, were all smiles when the school announced it was joining the Big Ten.AP

Just a day after Rutgers suspended its men’s basketball coach last December for the way he treated his players during practices, campus officials praised athletic director Tim Pernetti during a closed-door meeting for his handling of the situation.

According to a story posted on the Star-Ledger’s website last night, confidential minutes of that meeting obtained by the newspaper revealed that Pernetti said he was willing to give Mike Rice another chance because he thought the coach could change his abusive ways.

It was a decision that didn’t work out well for either Rice or Pernetti, both of whom lost their jobs once video of Rice’s conduct was leaked to ESPN.

Rice, who was shown on the video throwing basketballs at his players, placing his hands on them and berating them with homophobic slurs, was fired April 3 while Pernetti, the apple of the administration’s eye after getting Rutgers accepted for membership in the Big Ten last fall, resigned under fire Friday.

Pernetti, according to the minutes, told the group “if he did not think Coach Rice could rectify his behavior, he would not be giving him this chance.”

Also according to the minutes, Rutgers president Robert Barchi commended Pernetti and his department during that meeting for handling the matter “appropriately.”

The meeting, which took place in Camden, N.J., on Dec. 14 , was attended by more than 20 university officials, trustees and board members. During it, the athletics committee of the university’s Board of Governors discussed the allegations against Rice. But no one in the room raised the possibility Rice should be fired for his conduct nor did anyone ask to view the video of the coach’s abusive behavior.

The newspaper said the meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, was chaired by board member Mark Hershorn. Hershorn also has come under fire recently after it was learned he had seen the video of Rice’s behavior and did not bring it to the board’s attention.

According to the minutes, Hershon did not argue whether Rice should be fired. He only asked Pernetti to explain the three-game suspension.